


Interlude:【Trust】

by F-117 Nighthawk (F117_Nighthawk)



Series: I'll Be Your【Savior】 [2]
Category: Astral Chain (Video Game)
Genre: Akira is a cat magnet apparently, Akira vs Legion: who will win, Family Feels, File 3: [Link], Gen, Headaches & Migraines, Major Character Injury, Mental Link, Protective Siblings, Sibling Bonding, Strangulation, Yoseph shows up for like three minutes, family arguments, m!akira, spoiler alert: neither, the cats!, they get over it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:14:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21829555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F117_Nighthawk/pseuds/F-117%20Nighthawk
Summary: Trust: firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, and strength of someoneAiken and Akira find the Arrow Legion and deal with a few... interesting after-effects
Relationships: Akira Howard & All The Cats, Akira Howard & Player Character
Series: I'll Be Your【Savior】 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1572733
Comments: 3
Kudos: 38





	1. Burst

**Author's Note:**

> the bit with the cat escaping Akira's jacket at the beginning of file three is my favorite canon interaction between the siblings. Aiken doesn't even _say_ anything.

“Ah! No--ugh.” Akira huffed as he watched the cat sprint under the half-closed door. He couldn’t follow it right  _ now, _ not while they were on a case. He glanced over at Aiken when he heard a stifled laugh. She was giving him a Look, one eyebrow raised and a smirk on her lips as if to say “no cats here, huh?”

“Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything!”

“Just… shut up.”

* * *

“Akira! Are you okay?”

He was breathing hard, and he  _ knew _ that his emotions were a mess because he’d been forced to stay behind, because Aiken was back and Dad wasn’t with her, because of all the adrenaline running through his system from the fight, but he couldn’t hold the frustration back. “I  _ told _ you! I could have dealt with that  _ myself!”  _ He whirled around to face her, to face her hair that was slowly fading back to red, to face the Legion Core flickering on her wrist. Why was it always  _ her  _ saving him? “Why do you have to--to  _ play the hero _ like that?”

“What? Akira--”

_ “I’m Dad’s kid too!  _ I don’t need any  _ help _ with these! I can kill chimeras too! I can still  _ see _ them, I can  _ kill them. _ I don’t even need a Legion to--to  _ hide _ behind!”

“Akira! Calm  _ down!” _

“You keep being the one to “save” me, to bail me out of problems that don’t exist. I  _ promise _ I am  _ not useless. _ I can take care of myself, okay? We’ve been dealing with aberrations and chimeras our entire  _ lives.” _

“What is  _ with _ you?”

“I just want to  _ help! _ We set out with the goal of helping protect people, of making the world safer, of taking down this threat that is slowly destroying the world.  _ We’re not always going to be with each other. _ I don’t want to think about it, but it’s  _ true. _ Whether we have different assignments or something--something happens, we’re not going to be together, so  _ if I can’t take a chimera myself, what’s the point of even living?” _

“Well I’m sorry, but I’m not going to just  _ sit back _ when you’re being attacked!”

“Those were  _ minor c-scale _ chimeras!”

“That doesn’t change the fact that they’re still  _ chimeras! Two of them! _ I  _ know _ that you’re capable, hell your shooting score is almost three thousand points over mine, but if you think I’m going to leave you to fight  _ two chimeras _ on your own, we need to have a serious talk.”

“Aiken--”

The distinctive glitchy sound of a gate opening interrupted his next words and they both turned towards the red light, x-batons shifting in their hands. The moment stretched, the gate slowly widening as they turned and a screech emanated from it and the chimera was there--

Was that the  _ Arrow Legion? _

He didn’t get a chance to voice his confusion before suddenly his feet weren’t on the ground and something was cutting off his throat and all he heard was  _ “AKIRA!” _ before the world was red and black.

* * *

The first thing Akira noticed was the pain. He must have damaged his suit’s life-support system somehow if it wasn’t dimming the pain. He rolled over to try and relieve the pressure on what was probably a broken rib and ended up causing himself a coughing fit, which only got worse when he realized his throat  _ hurt. _ With a moan of discomfort, he got himself into a sitting position and opened his eyes.

“Well shit.”

He was definitely in the Astral Plane if the floating cubes in red and shades of grey were anything to go by. In the center of everything, floating above a crystal outcropping, was the Arrow Legion. It turned, seeming to sense he was awake, and floated down in front of him. Akira stood and pulled his x-baton out but didn’t transform it. There was something… odd about the Legion.

“Why did you bring me here?”

He didn’t get a verbal response, but the Legion turned, gesturing outwards with one of its bows.

Akira peered in that direction. “You want… to go out there? Sorry, but I don’t think I can jump that gap without like, falling into oblivion.”

It waggled its head in a “sort-of” motion and gestured downwards.

“You want me  _ stuck _ here. On this outcropping that my only way off is through you. Why?”

The Legion drifted backward a bit and raised its bows.

“You want to fight me?”

It nodded, drifting backward even more. Akira grinned.  _ Finally. _ With a flick of his wrist, his x-baton was in its gun form, sights targeted directly on the Arrow Legion’s head. “You’re on.”

He fired off three shots in quick succession, strafing left the way he knew it would run and landed every one. The Legion screeched and ran backward, its bows glowing red with power. He dodged under a shot and skidded to a stop, flicking his IRIS on as he did so. It highlighted the weak points he knew were there in the Legion’s armor. The underarms were easy targets from his position below it. One shot landed, but the Legion caught on to his plan and sped forwards towards him.

“Oh fuck!” he yelped, hitting the ground as the Legion flew through the space his head had been moments ago. With a growl, he rolled to his feet and turned to fire at the Legion. He hit the underarm again, gaining him another screech of pain. It fired at him again, five shots in quick succession, forcing Akira to roll under the shots towards his right. The last shot got him square in the middle of his armor, knocking him backward and causing his broken rib to flare in pain. He gasped on the ground for a moment, the wind knocked out of him.

The Legion slowly advanced on him, larger bow drawn and trained on his head. He needed to  _ move  _ but he  _ couldn’t breathe _ and the thing was releasing the string, the red energy speeding towards him he had his x-baton up--

\--and managed to transform it into the gladius just in time to block the shot. The recoil almost slammed the blade into his chest and caused his injured ribs to screech in pain, but he couldn’t focus on them. The Legion was still advancing, drawing its bow again. He couldn’t stay long-range here. 

With great force of will, Akira pushed himself to his feet just in time to get out of the way of another shot. He dashed forward, under the Legion’s arms, and swung his gladius up through the elbow joints. It roared as it slammed into the ground and Akira followed it, switching his weapon back to its gun form and shooting the Legion’s Core at point-blank range. “Got you,” he grinned, the adrenaline in his veins amping up the feeling of triumph coursing through him. He reached back to pull his Legatus out--

Fuck.

In the rush to get out here from the station, he hadn’t grabbed his Legatus. He couldn’t recapture the Legion. This realization seemed to dawn on the Legion at the same time as Akira. With a roar, it threw him off it and reactivated its bow, aiming at him point-blank. 

_ “--kira--you? Aki--!” _

Both human and Legion jolted at the voice coming from Akira’s radio. They stared at each other for a moment. The Legion growled at him, advancing slightly. “Oh, no you don’t.”

He stumbled backward out of its immediate range, ducking a swipe to his head and rolling to its other side. “Aiken!” he yelled into his comm. “Aiken, can you pick up my biosignal!?”

He didn’t hear the response because he was too busy jumping over a shot from one of the Legion’s arrows and running backwards with his x-baton shifted into its gun form. A one-two shot hit the Legion in the unarmored neck at the cost of one of its shots catching his leg armor. Akira fell to his knees, crying out in pain. The Legion took advantage of his distraction and drew its large bow, aiming for his head. 

Akira only managed to half dodge out of the way, his x-baton taking the rest of the blow but still ending with him on his back on the ground again. The Arrow Legion swept forward, releasing its bows to grab around his neck again. He struggled against it, raising his x-baton up to shoot at the Legion. It screeched as the shot connected with its core again but didn’t let go as he’d hoped and instead seemed to tighten its grip even more he couldn’t  _ breathe  _ but he had to get it off him and someone was yelling his name but his vision was blurring he couldn’t figure out who and finally  _ finally _ the Legion loosened its grip ever so slightly and he could breathe enough to get his gun up again and shoot it in the face. The Legion screeched and retreated, its bows trained on him as he sat up, still shooting at its face and core as he tried to lever himself upright.

And then it paused and released its bows. It nodded at him, like a martial artist bowing to a sparring partner, like it was saying that if he  _ had _ had the Legatus, it would have let him recapture it.

Akira hesitated, lowering his gun slightly. His vision was still blurry, black-spots hovering at the edges from lack of oxygen, but he swore that behind it was a familiar figure with glowing blue hair. His name threw itself against the edge of his hearing just as the Arrow Legion twisted around. It screeched again and disappeared into thin air. Akira let himself fall back again. He could just… sit here for a moment, let his brain bathe in sweet oxygen and maybe the black would stop covering more of his vision…

* * *

“—vitals are relatively stable, but I can’t tell if he’s got any internal injuries with all the interference from the gate. Get him out here,  _ carefully, _ and I’ll check again.”

A hand touched his side, trying to roll him over to pick him up. Unfortunately, the owner of the hand managed to place it directly on his injured ribs, wringing a pained moan out of him. “Akira?”

“Mmmgh. ‘Ken?”

“Yeah, hey, easy there, you’re pretty beat up.”

Akira opened his eyes to find Aiken kneeling above him, worry in her eyes and hair slowly fading to red. He groaned and moved to sit up, but his body had other ideas. He hissed in pain and Aiken caught him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I said  _ easy. _ What happened?”

“Before or after I got choked out again by my own berserk Legion?”

_ “Again?” _

He nodded. “Agh, help me up?”

She slung an arm around his waist, taking most of his body weight and hauling him up to standing. “You can’t just leave me hanging, ‘Kira. What  _ happened?” _

“I fought it.”

“You  _ fought _ it. You fought the Arrow Legion. By yourself.”

“Yep.”

“With nothing but your x-baton.”

“Yep.”

“Are you  _ crazy?” _

“I’m  _ not _ crazy, and the only reason it’s not hauling us out of this place right now is that I don’t have my damn Legatus on me! Look at the battle logs from my suit if they still exist, I  _ beat it. _ And don’t tell me you didn’t fight it, I see the rips on your suit, so where is it now?”

Aiken looked away from him at nothing in particular. “Aiken, where is it.”

She still wouldn’t look at him. “Aiken--”

“I recaptured it.”

He stared at her for a moment. “What?”

“It was between me and you and wouldn’t move and no matter what I did, it wouldn’t do that glitch-out-of-existence thing and it was flying towards you again and I panicked and recaptured it. Sorry. I’ll see if I can transfer it to your Legatus when we get back.”

Aiken still wouldn’t look him in the eyes. He stepped around her, getting in her face to force her to look at him. “You… have both of them? In your Legatus? Right now?” She nodded. Akira sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I’m too tired and in too much pain to process that right now. Can we get out of here and I can be mad about that when we get back to the station and Jin and Alica and Olive yell at both of us for being reckless?”

“You’re damn  _ right _ we’ll be yelling at you. What were you  _ thinking _ fighting the Nemesis Legion  _ alone?” _

“Hi, Olive.”

“Aiken, there should be a gate on the other side of the platform you’re on. Akira, is your suit’s life support working?”

Aiken started moving them towards the gate as Akira blinked his way through his HUD. “Uhm, partially. AED’s minorly damaged but functional, the meds suite is fully offline but doesn’t seem to be damaged from the outside? The sensors are partially online.”

“Odd, I can’t pick any of them up. I had to use Aiken’s external scanners just to make sure you were alive.”

“Maybe it’s the gate interference.”

“Hopefully. I’ll open the link again once you’re on the other side. Olive out.”

Aiken had gotten them to the gate. She glanced over at Akira. “You ready?”

“I don’t think I’m ever ready for this part,” he grumbled but nodded. Aiken released the Legion Core on her wrist, the Sword Legion glitching to life next to them. She wrapped her arm tighter around him with a whispered sorry at his hiss of pain, and swung her arm with the Legatus towards the gate.

They stumbled out the other side with the usual disorientation of their bodies readjusting to Earth on top of their collected aches and pains. Akira’s leg finally gave out from under him, pulling them both to the ground. “Ow, fuck, okay, Olive?”

“I’ve got you both back on the system, including your life support. Nothing life-threatening for either of you, but Akira you really need those ribs checked and to tell Aiken to wrap that gash on her arm already.”

Akira glanced at the arm that was holding him half-up and then back up to glare at his sister. She looked away from him. “There were more important things, okay? You’d been kidnapped by the Legion.”

He sighed. That wasn’t something he could really fault her for. “How long until pickup?”

“Ah, unfortunately, all our choppers got co-opted as medical choppers; the attack on the ARI damaged most of the fleet and it’s still gonna be a few days until they’re back up and running. They’re being used for the most high-risk cases, which neither of you is. I can send someone in a squad car, but that’s gonna be a few hours. The other option is waiting for a chopper to be free, which is probably going to be the same amount of time. I’m also going to say this before one of you inevitably suggests walking back to the station:  _ no.” _

Aiken raised an eyebrow. “How did you--”

“You’re a lot like your dad.”

“Send the car, keep the chopper for the people that need it. I know somewhere we can rest for a bit, and we can help with cleanup efforts.”

“As long as you don’t injure yourself more, Akira. I’ll get Marie to detour towards you. Over and out.”

Akira groaned and pushed himself back to his feet. Aiken wrapped an arm around his waist again. “Does this mysterious hangout spot have something to do with that cat?”

His silence spoke volumes.


	2. Reconstruction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's after midnight I should not be sitting here editing and posting fanfic i have work tomorrow but here we fucking are. not like my sleep schedule's any worse than it was during the semester.
> 
> I just,,, love the cat house. It's so pure. Let me see Akira randomly show up there to sit with the cats.

Aiken stared at the hoard of cats that rushed them as Akira opened the door to the seemingly abandoned apartment. He hurriedly shoved her into the room and closed the door behind them before kneeling down and  _ cooing _ at the cats. “Oh thank god you’re all okay. Yeah, you are, who’s a sweet girl? You are.”

She edged out of the way of the cats towards the cabinet and small kitchenette against the other wall. One door was half-open, revealing what looked like a stock of non-perishable food and what she was willing to bet was bandages. Opening every door gave her a few ration bars, a bandage that could easily wrap around the gash on her arm, and a bottle of water. Treasure in hand, she gingerly stepped over a cat to sit on the couch. Akira was still by the door, the cats rubbing their cheeks over every inch of him they could reach, each taking their turn under his affectionate hands. 

Aiken couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her brother smile like that. He was grinning, despite the pain she knew he was in, the light in his eyes brightening the room so much it almost felt like home. She unclipped her armor enough she could get at the gash on her arm, still watching the cats accost her brother out of the corner of her eye.

“Here, let me get that.”

She glanced up at Akira as he walked over and took the bandage from her hand. “What is this place?”

“Dad used to take care of these cats. If it weren’t for him, anything could have happened to them, but even he couldn’t bring them to the station and he couldn’t bring them home because he couldn’t risk us getting infected, especially with our already high redshift levels. I guess he thought if he kept them here, he could come by on patrol and take care of them. I followed him one day, while you were at track practice and the archery coach was sick. He must have known I was following him, but he led me straight here anyway. Dad said I could help out, but I had to keep it a secret, even from you. Sorry.”

Aiken shook her head. “Don’t apologize for that. I’m glad you followed him that day, I can’t imagine what would happen to these guys now if you weren’t here.”

“Dad just wanted to save the world. The whole world, not just humans. Even these little guys.”

One of the cats jumped onto the couch between them, mewing up a storm. Akira reached out and scratched them behind the ears. They in turn nuzzled into his hand and curled up on his lap, purring. Aiken smiled. “Guess you’re a lot like him, huh.”

Akira gave her a watery smile. “He was really an incredible person. And he--he was so kind to us too. He didn’t have to take care of us, but here we are. I don’t think we could’ve asked for a better Dad. And I know he wasn’t thrilled about us joining up, following in his footsteps, but I think he understood why. I just… never imagined it would end up like this.”

Aiken reached forward and wiped a tear off his cheek before pulling him into a proper hug. “We’ll find him, and everything will be fine.”

* * *

“Hey, Aiken?”

She looked over at where her brother was sitting on the couch from where she was standing by the sink. Akira was practically covered in cats. One of the smaller kittens was curled on his shoulder, another tucked into his elbow, three had managed to squish themselves onto his lap, and one of the moms was sitting on his feet while the other was curled against his side. Somehow they seemed to understand where he was hurt and avoid putting pressure on it. “Yeah?”

“When you were fighting the Arrow Legion, did you use your Legion?”

She frowned at him, puzzled. “Yeah, why?”

He shrugged with the shoulder that didn’t have a cat on it. “No reason. Curiosity, I suppose. I’m wondering why it let you recapture it. If I had had my Legatus,  _ would _ it have let me recapture it?”

“You seemed to have it on the defensive when I got there.”

“Yeah and then I passed out because it’d been choking me again. I don’t know, it just--”

“Akira,” she said, moving to stand in front of him with her hands on her hips. “It would have let you, and once we get back to HQ I’m  _ sure _ the Commander will know how to transfer it back to your Legatus. You made an impression on it, it  _ trusts _ you and your abilities. Stop doubting yourself.”

“But-- _ Holy--” _

Both twins yelped and scrambled backward when the Legion Core on Aiken’s back suddenly glitched bigger, spawning the Arrow Legion between them. The cats on Akira’s lap screeched and leaped off, sprinting for the safety of the food bowls. The Legion hovered between them, silently staring at Akira. It slowly extended a hand towards him, palm towards the ceiling. They stared at each other for a moment before hesitantly, like he was acting against something pulling him, Akira reached out for it.

Their fingertips touched and they froze, gazes distant, like they were no longer on Earth. Aiken swore she could see the same blue that her hair turned into creeping up Akira’s hair, glowing in his eyes, before the Legion nodded once and disappeared again.

Akira gasped, jolting forward. “Wh--What?”

Aiken lunged towards him, catching him before he could fall forwards off the couch. “Whoa! Hey, okay, you’re okay.”

“What was that? It--What?”

“You’re gonna have to tell me, ‘Kira.”

His wild eyes finally locked on her face. “I don’t  _ know. _ It--I don’t know how to explain what it just did. It’s like it’s in my mind? But not? Because it’s in yours? I can sense it still and I just--know what it’s doing? I can’t control it because it’s not in my Legatus but I can-- _ talk  _ to it? Like I could before it escaped but now it’s--I don’t know. Different? Easier?”

Aiken nodded. “Sounds a lot like what happened when I recaptured the Sword Legion. I think it’s because it actually respects you as a fighter and a person now. It’s willing to work with you, to follow orders and do things in your favor even if you don’t order it, like jump itself out to protect you.”

Akira nodded, then winced at the motion. “God I have a headache now. Is this what you felt?”

“Pretty much. Guess you don’t wanna go help with cleanup efforts, now?”

He shook his head and buried his face in her shoulder with a pained moan. “Really don’t wanna move.”

“Just don’t pass out on me for three days, mkay?”

“No promises.”

* * *

“Oh my god, that’s adorable.”

Aiken jumped at the sudden new voice in the apartment, automatically grabbing her Legatus and x-baton as she whirled to face the intruder. Marie was standing in the half-open doorway, clearly suppressing a squeal at the scene in front of her.  _ “Marie!” _ she hissed, “Jesus, don’t  _ sneak up _ like that!”

“Sorry! Just-- _ look at him.” _

Akira was asleep on the couch, all but one of the cats curled on and around him. The one that wasn’t was puttering about Aiken’s legs where she was trying to clean up the apartment a little, begging for pets occasionally which she happily obliged. She had to admit it was pretty adorable. It’d been far, far too long since she’d seen her brother so relaxed. “Yeah, okay. My point still stands. You do that far too often.”

Marie ignored her, walking into the apartment and poking at Akira. “Hey. Hey, wake up, Akira.”

Akira grumbled and swatted at her hand. He didn’t open his eyes until she poked at him again. “Aiken, I swear to god--Marie?”

“Akira, I’m  _ so _ sorry, I had you pegged as a big meanie but you’re actually such a--a big  _ sweetie!” _

He blinked up at her in confusion. “A… big sweetie?”

“I’ll be sure to bring you some cat food next time!”

He blinked at her for a beat before jolting into a sitting position. “Wait,  _ Marie, _ you can’t-- _ ow fuck.” _

Aiken almost tripped over the cats that had scattered when he sat up in her rush to get over to him. “What did I say about  _ easy?” _

“You said nothing about easy,” he grumbled, pressing the heels of his hands against his forehead.  _ “God _ I see why you passed out for so long. Marie, you  _ cannot _ tell anyone about this place, okay?”

“Aw, why not?”

“Because if too many people know about this, the cats aren’t going to be safe here anymore.”

“He also doesn’t want you ruining his tough-guy image.”

“I do  _ not--” _

“But he already ruined that when he apparently cried after I got dragged through the gate, so--”

_ “Aiken!” _

“Sorry. But also, you did cry, and I absolutely have a picture of you covered in cats for future blackmail.”

Akira groaned and buried his face in his hands. “I hate you. The cats don’t hate me. I revoke your cat privileges.”

The cat that had been following Aiken around resumed its place by her feet. “Yeah, I don’t think Walnut agrees with you. Do you, huh boy?”

“He does, he’s just a traitor.”

“Also, I’m older, so you don’t get to revoke my privileges.”

_ “By seven minutes!” _

Aiken was grinning, Walnut in her arms and an exasperated glare from Akira centered on the back of her head as she turned to Marie. “In all seriousness, though, you probably should keep this place to yourself.”

She pouted but nodded. “Okay. As long as I get to come visit them.”

“Deal.”

“Great! Now come on, let’s get you back to HQ. Who wants to hear the story I heard at today’s red matter training session!”

* * *

“Aiken, Akira, good work today.”

Aiken wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Commander Calvert anywhere but behind his desk, so seeing him standing in the infirmary at the foot of her brother’s bed was a little… off-putting. “Thank you, Sir,” Aiken answered. Akira sat up a little more, hiding a wince at the movement.

“You can spare me the details for the moment, I saw everything from here, but I expect to see your perspective in your reports. I never believed we’d see the lost Legions again, much less like this. An attack, and then suddenly…  _ core fusion. _ It’s  _ breathtaking. _ A Sync Rate unlike anything we’ve ever seen. You can wield both the Sword and Arrow Legions at will, and I imagine the other three will listen to you as well. I order you to seize the opportunity, should the opportunity present itself.”

“Thank you, Sir. However, I believe that having more than one active Legionis would benefit us more in the long run.”

“Indeed. However, the Legions can only be bonded to one Legionis at a time, and it would be most imprudent to not recapture a Legion if given the opportunity.”

“All due respect, Sir,” Akira interrupted, “I don’t believe that the first part is true.”

“Oh? Enlighten me.”

“After the Arrow Legion dragged me into the Astral Plane, we had a… discussion, with both weapons and mental words. I’m still able to talk to it, despite it being in Aiken’s Legatus and thus connected to her.”

The Commander studied him. “Interesting. How much of a connection would you say you reestablished?”

Aiken answered for him: “His hair was blue.”

Akira blinked at her. “It was?”

She nodded. “When I first found you, and then later when the Legion was doing… whatever the hell it was doing with you.”

_ “Most _ interesting. Unfortunately, the Legatus was not designed with the idea of being able to release or transfer a Legion, but I’ll see what I can do. You two are on medical leave for the next week, per Doctor Moreno’s orders, unless any emergency that needs a Legion comes up. If you’ll excuse me, I need to return to my duties.”

* * *

“Hey, Akira, if he “saw everything from here,” does he know about the cats?”


End file.
